|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
The inertia that has characterised President Mohammadu Buhari-led government towards the Ogidigben Gas Revolution Industrial Park (GRIP) in Delta state may make Nigeria lose about $20 billion private sector investment opportunity.
Low level activities or lack of it currently on the side of the government are sending mixed signals to investors as to when the project will be set in motion, invariably delaying investments and puts the country at a risk of losing over four million jobs and more than 150,000 direct and indirect jobs that could possibly come along with the project during construction.
Industry analysts are worried that if the government fails to act fast the same fate that has befallen the oil and gas industry where international investors frustrated by government’s inaction over the handling of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) decided to turn their back against the country and invest their money in other climes that are more investment friendly.
The economic importance associated with the project made the former president Goodluck Jonathan to perform the ground breaking of the project on March 26, 2015 after securing the consent of a lot investors across the world that have agreed to set up businesses in the park. The cost of the project then was put at $16 billion.
However by the last time this current government decided to visit issues relating to the project last year more investors had shown interest with the potential investment from them peaking at $20 billion.
The gas city will serve as the regional hub for gas-based industries. With the country’s abundant natural resources, she should be among the most industrialised nations in the world.
It is expected to be developed by a consortium comprising the GSE&C of South Korea, the China Development Bank, Power China and several other global operators from Asia and the United Arab Emirates in the Middle-East.
Sources close to the project said that apart from the slow action of the government that is affecting the project there other issues that are affecting it and they must be resolved before the project can effectively take off.
One of the issues is the ethnic rivalry between the Ijaws and Itsekiris over the location of the project. David Ige, former executive director Gas and Power at the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation NNPC alluded to this at the last Nigeria Gas Association Forum (NGA) when he said: “One of the problems we had while inaugurating the project was the constant conflict between the two major ethnic tribes that are dominate in the area over where the project was to be sited.”
He said after Julius Berger had cleared over two kilometres of 2,700 hectares at the park designed for fertilizer, methanol, petrochemicals, and aluminium plants, this major investment had to be stopped based on this rivalry.
Aside from these, the rivalry between the Nigerian Port Authority and Nigeria Export Processing Zone Authority (NEPZA) over who has control over the site was frustrating the projects.
The issue of gas supplier to the industrial park is yet to be resolved despite the fact that Chevron Nigeria Limited appears to be one of the major oil and gas producers close to the project. The gas producers have not agreed on gas price.
The industrial park would be a cluster for several industries in one location benefiting from an efficient, cost-competitive and abundant supply of natural gas, proximity to a deep sea port and centralised utilities, and services such as uninterrupted power, world class telecommunications and processed water.
The vice President Yemi Osinbajo had when he was acting president unveiled a public-private partnership industrial plan valued at $20 billion dollar for development of gas-based industries in the park.
He stated this when he met with the project development partners, a consortium of “Fortune 500 companies like the GSE&C of South Korea, the China Development Bank, Power China and several others global operators from Asia and the United Arab Emirates in the Middle-East.”
He added that it sits on 2700 hectares with fertilizer, methanol, petrochemicals, & aluminium plants located in the park that has already been designated as a Tax Free Zone.
